The Firefighter Daddy

From Bachelor to Father

Firefighter Liam McGregory is used to staring down five-alarm fires—but becoming a father to his two little nieces has him sending out a call for help. When the girls return a lost pup to its beautiful owner, Liam thinks widow Sarah Blackburn is just the person he needs—or who the children need. He’s promised to never marry again. Sarah takes his deal: she’ll watch his kids and he’ll watch her menagerie of pets—but the new father is off-limits. But two determined little matchmakers can be hard to resist when they need a mom to make one big happy family...

He was a hero.

He stood there, a smile lighting his eyes, looking so proud of himself. As proud as she was that he’d rescued his niece and her kittens from the tree. But wasn’t that what firefighters always did?

“Uncle Liam needs a hug.”

His niece’s statement broke into her thoughts. She looked at the girl, who wore the biggest grin. Did she want Sarah to hug him? Then again, hadn’t he just saved one of her precious pets? Heat suffusing her face, she gave him a quick embrace.

She led him out of the yard, Liam following close behind her. She kept her head forward, her cheeks still flaming. At the gate, she swiveled around. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

He closed the space between them. “I’m glad you did. I can always use a hug. It’s been a difficult time adjusting to fatherhood, and I have a feeling it’s been hard for you, too, since you came back home.”

Yes, it was. And as she looked at Liam, she had a feeling it was going to get even harder…

MARGARET DALEY, an award-winning author of ninety books, has been married for over forty years and is a firm believer in romance and love. When she isn’t traveling, she’s writing love stories, often with a suspense thread, and corralling her three cats that think they rule her household. To find out more about Margaret, visit her website at margaretdaley.com.

For the Lord is good;

His mercy everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

—Psalms 100:5

To all firefighters, you do a great job.

Thank you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

The sound of a loud crash from the rear of the shop reverberated through Snip and Cut Hair Salon. Sarah Blackburn held her scissors poised over her customer’s white hair for a second then whirled around and looked at her mother in the station next to hers. She was in the middle of shampooing a client. “I’ll take care of it, Mom. Mrs. Calhoun, I’ll be right back.”

Sarah made a beeline for the small kitchen area, her heart pounding. What had Nana done now? Please, God, let her be okay.

Sarah entered the room and came to a sudden halt. Nana stood in the middle of a puddle of red and brown dyes splattered all over the tiled floor with a large cat racing through the color mixture toward the open bay window. The tomcat, with splashes of red and brown on its white fur, leaped onto the table, jumped to the windowsill and wiggled his big body under the raised screen, disappearing from sight.

“Oh, dear. Sammy didn’t even finish his food.” Her forehead knitted, Nana glanced at Sarah. “I need to find him.”

Before her grandmother started for the rear door, Sarah moved into action, cutting off her path. She slung her arm around Nana’s thin shoulders and turned her away. “You’ve got dye on your legs. I need to scrub it off before it turns your skin red and brown.” She sat her grandmother in the chair nearby, grabbed a wet cloth and began scrubbing the dye off her skin.

“Sammy will get hungry if I don’t go get him.”

“Nana, the tomcat is long gone. How did you get him inside? He usually eats outside on the back stoop.”

“I left the door open while I fixed his food. He came in.” Nana beamed. “Until lately, Sammy hasn’t always come to me.”

“Sammy,” as her grandmother called the white tomcat that had been showing up lately at the shop, was a stray that Nana thought was her pet when she was a little girl.

“Mama, what did you do?” Sarah’s mother asked as she charged into the kitchen.

Nana peered at her daughter and pursed her lips. “My job. I was preparing a dye for a customer. One bowl slipped from my hand, and I must have dropped the other. The sound scared Sammy. I’ve got to find him.”

Sarah’s mom sighed, her shoulders drooping forward as she faced Sarah. “Go finish Mrs. Calhoun’s cut then style Beatrice’s hair for me. I’m taking her home—” she glanced at Nana “—and get her cleaned up. Good thing they’re our last clients.”

As her mom took over with Nana, Sarah reentered the front of the small hair salon, plastering a grin on her face, when she didn’t feel like smiling. Not when she understood her grandmother’s need to look for what she thought was her pet. Three days ago Sarah’s dog had disappeared. A lump lodged in her throat at the thought of not seeing Gabe again. Her late husband had given her the black Lab on their second anniversary, and Gabe had helped her get through the deaths of Peter and her unborn child. Many late nights she’d held the Lab and cried over her loss.